THE AMERICAN SHAD 



At various times between 1871 and 1880 

 shad fry were planted in the Sacramento 

 River in California and in the Columbia 

 River. They have thrived so well that they 

 are now to be found from San Diego to Fort 

 Wrangle, a distance of 2,000 miles, and 

 are most abundant in the markets of San 

 Francisco. 



The shad cannot be rightly called a game 

 fish, yet it has been taken with an artificial 

 fly. Published statements of such catches 

 are often made but the fish captured gen- 

 erally prove to be the hickory shad or the 

 alewife, both of which will take artificial 

 flies as well as bait. 



There are conditions where the true shad 

 will rise to a fly. Chief among them is where 

 there is an obstruction in the river above 

 which it is impossible for them to pass. On 

 reaching such an obstruction they swim 

 frantically about and seem to take the lure 

 in savage desperation. 



In the early summer it is the custom to 

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